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#Duncan going 'I don't....think that's how it goes?'
ereborne · 5 months
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Song of the Day: December 2
"Money Honey" by State of Shock
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entitled-fangirl · 3 months
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Breakfast is ready.
Felix Catton x reader
Summary: The reader feels sick, but Felix is going to make sure she eats breakfast.
Words: 968
Warnings: sickness, cursing
Author's note: This is kind of from an ask but I made it just about breakfast!
Masterlist
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She woke up to the blinds being opened by the maid, "Breakfast is ready."
She let out a soft groan, sitting up and stretching her arms out. Her hair was a mess, her clothes frumpeld. She looked over to see that Felix's side of the bed was empty and quite cold. He had been out for a while, and she couldn't possibly guess why he would leave her.
She pushed herself to the edge of the bed, standing onto her feet. Her head hurt, perhaps her body becoming ill, but there was no skipping breakfast. Her legs shivered, her now realizing she is only in Felix's shirt and her underwear. 
Running to the dresser, she pulls a pair of slacks. Pulling them on quickly, she throws a jumper over Felix's shirt. She tames her hair just enough to look presentable. But she takes an extra minute in the mirror, looking at the bags under her eyes. How late had they stayed up?
Throwing on a pair of socks to keep her feet warm, she quickly goes downstairs to breakfast.
Entering the dining room, she's greeted with quiet, "Morning"s. Her eyes immediately scan the table, seeing Felix look up at her too. A bright smile comes across his face at the sight of her sleepy form.
She quickly moves to sit next to him. As she sits down, she feels Felix's hand rest on her back, "You alright, angel?" He asks in a low tone.
"I… yeah. I just don't know why you didn't wake me up this morning." Her hand reaches up to her head as the headache comes back.
He lets out a soft laugh, whispering in her ear, "Well, I figured you deserve as much beauty sleep as I could give you. Seemed to work. I mean, look at you this morning. Taking my fuckin breathe away."
A smile graced her face as her cheek turned a shade of pink.
Duncan entered, "Goodmorning. How would you like your eggs?"
She grimaced, her voice coming out still quiet and hoarse from her sleep, "I'm fine, Duncan. I'm not that hung-"
"-She'll have them over easy. Thanks."
Duncan leaves with a nod.
She turned to Felix, "Why did you do that?"
He shrugs, his arm going over the back of her chair, "You need to eat."
She gives a slight pout, "I can't… my head hurts too bad."
His eyebrows furrow, "Did you sleep alright?"
She nods, "I slept fine, Lex."
He doesn't take that for an answer.
"Listen, angel. You think you're getting sick?"
"No. No. I'm alright."
He nods, deciding not to fight about it at the table. A silence ensues for a while before he decides to break it again. "Oh, angel. We were talking about the Shelley biography."
Venetia jumped in, "yeah. Do you know the story about Shelley's doppelgänger?"
She shook her head, stopping once she remembered the headache.
Felix got up from the table, going to the side table.
Venetia continued, "Shelley's housekeeper was cleaning one of the rooms when Shelley walked past the window and waved at her. So, she waved back before she realized that Shelley was in Italy…"
Felix had returned to the table, gently setting the now made plate in front of his angel for her to eat. She looked at him with a slightly disagreeing look, but knew not to fight about it at the table. 
"…And she was on the top floor of the house…"
Felix grimaced at Venetia's story, his hands moving over his girl's ears to keep her from hearing it. If it would freak him out, he knew she shouldn't hear it, "Oh, Vee. Stop, stop, stop. I won't sleep."
But she continued, "…a few hours later, he drowned."
Elspeth gasped, "oh. Oh, that's just given me goosebumps."
Felix took his hands back, considering it safe for his girl to listen again.
Farleigh stared at the paper in front of him, his voice strong and uncaring, "I heard he fucked his sister."
Sir James finally spoke up, "Oh, for God's sake!"
Felix turned, "Jesus, Farleigh…"
Oliver quipped up, "I think that was Byron."
The table went quiet, as if everyone had forgotten that Oliver was there. That quickly turned to small chatter between the adults.
Farleigh looked disgusted but Felix held an amused smile on his face, turning to her to see she had a matching one. He then pointed at her plate, as if telling her to eat it. About that time, Duncan brought out her eggs, setting it next to her other full plate. She let out a sigh, staring at the food. 
Elspeth was brought out of her talk hearing the girl's sigh. "Oh, darling. Is everything alright?"
Her eyes snapped up, her mouth opening to answer, but Felix beat her to it, "she's not feeling well, that's all."
The mother nodded, "Oh, I see. Nasty sickness going around this time of year. Take your time today, darling."
She nodded gratefully, turning back to her plate. The chattering continued and she continued to stare at the plate. Eventually, Felix brushed her arm lightly with his, his voice soft again, "Is something wrong, angel? You really must eat."
She simply stared at the eggs, feeling herself get sick just staring at them. Felix noticed it, immediately moving the plate away, "Duncan. Could I actually get some eggs just… scrambled?"
"Felix, stop."
"No. I want you to be able to eat what's in front of you. Duncan?"
Duncan nodded, taking the plate away quickly. 
She turns to see everyone staring at them. She mutters a quiet, "I'm sorry."
Felix sighs, "Don't be, angel." He kissed the top of her head as she stared at the table in embarrassment. 
Breakfast continued, Felix's arm around the back of her chair the entire time.
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odessa-2 · 2 months
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HUBLANDER MELBOURNE ☀️
OK ladies, so I ended up going. Long story short, I was given a spare ticket and decided to seize the moment. It was stinking hot, and a terribly organised event (it was literally in a shed). Despite this, I am glad I did go. My long held observations/beliefs of Sam's character, who he really is as a man, and the fantasy man, single Sam push, were proven correct. I did get a photo with Sam, and I must confess he really is incredibly good-looking. Even better in the flesh. A doll. He's hyper vigilant, astutely aware of his surrounds (eyes darting everywhere) , very polite and gentlemanly and professional.
He looked tanned and fresh and endured hoards of horny grannies fawning over him for hours on end and was attentive to everyone. The organisers of the event stuck Sam, Duncan, Charles and John in a small tin shed that had no air con, that must've been about 50 degrees celsius inside ,where they stood and posed with frenzied women for over 3 hours. They looked visibly overheated (shame on the organisers). Sam didn't faulter. Polite to a tee.
Would you believe that Sam had to use the same toilets as the plebs?! Yep, you heard correctly. Shocking work by the organisers. I actually had to desperately pee at one point but waited until I saw Sam come out of the toilets. In-between panels, the actors were staying upstairs in the loft level, and I saw the uber eats delivery man run upstairs to bring them food. The organisers didn't even feed their guests!
Sam is Jamie to these women and he knows it. Starz knows it. I saw the crazed obsession with my own eyes. I saw how his people; his team have shaped him and moulded him(for his public persona) to appeal to these women and this fantasy notion. They want their Jamie. They want single Sam, and that's what they (starz) give them. There is no room for anything else but Single Sam. And Sam professionally obliges. What he puts out to the public at the conventions is scripted and measured. He is very guarded. I could see it unfold in front of me with great clarity. There were women there who didn't want him with Caitriona (they weren't interested in the Caitriona titbits Sam gave), 50 and 60 year old women who actually think they stand a chance. Tragic. Sam is gorgeous and charming and Starz has used that to sell. And quite frankly, after witnessing this display, I can see why he has a fascade going on. I can see why he would want the public completely removed from his personal life and family. I get it.
Another observation of mine, I know this goes without saying, but he is definitely not gay for those who are insistent. He gives off zero gay vibes. He is not effeminate in the slightest, and I found him to be quite more masculine than I'd imagined. He reads people well and can't keep still. What else can I tell you? He has nice skin, piercing blue eyes (like really crystal blue) and exceptionally tall. He does his job very well and has high emotional intelligence. Starz uses his good looks and they pimp him out to the fan base.
Now don't get me wrong, i met lots of lovely women there today who were sweet and kind and exited. But hearing women's conversations at the event; he really is their fantasy. They were squealing and many saying how they wished they could grab his bum or 💋 him. There's no room for Caitriona. Just fantasy Sam.
Odessa says hi Sam 👋...you were a real trooper.
I'll share some more titbits from the panel tomorrow when my splitting headache hopefully dissipates.
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sardonic-the-writer · 8 months
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𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞, & 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞
↳ warnings: mentions of self depreciating thoughts
↳ song: be nice to me—the front bottoms
masterlist!
𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨
• He is the best at assuring you that you're beautiful; no matter the time of day. Flattery is one of his love languages after all
• Whispers sweet nothings to you as he hugs you from behind, doing his best to squash each and every negative thought that pops up
• Most of what he says is in his mother tounge. It's a lot easier for Alejandro to spill his heart out to you that way. If you know spanish, he just smiles as he buries his face in your neck—placing soft kisses along your skin. If not, he'll gently translate it with just as much love as the first times
• Even though he might be a villian, Alejandro wont stand to see anyone put you down. Anyone. Not Heather, Duncan, Mal, Chris; you name it. He'll shut them down with a quick witted quip, tight smile conveying his true emotions
• Is adamant that is he doesn't win the game, he wants you to. After all how could you not? You're smart and courageous and stunning and—
• "Okay okay Al. I get it." You shook your head playfully, sighing
• You're the only one that gets to call him that. It's the only way he won't shiver when he hears the nickname. Plus he likes how it sounds coming from you
• "Anything for you amore."
𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞
• Mike is in absolute disbelief that you'd ever think you were anything short of amazing. I mean, really? You of all people thinking thst you don't measure up to others? Impossible. He just doesn't understand
• Mike is comforting in the aspect that he doesn't get it. One of the reasons he has a giant crush on you in the first place is, well, literally everything about you
• He adores you, and will go on small tangents about all the things he loves about you without even noticing
• "—and I mean don't even get me started on your kindness!" Mike laughed with heat tinting the top of his ears. He had been talking for quite some time now, not noticing that you had been staring at him with a greatful shine in your eyes
• Once you sit down and explain that it's a mental state, he just sort of goes. Oh. And then proceeds to hug you tightly. And I mean tightly. This guy has some strength on him—we've all seen how he nearly crushed Cameron that one time
• "I'll always be here for you!" He titters happily. "I think you're amazing no matter what!"
• Probably calls you awesome sauce anytime he notices you feeling down. It's so ridiculous that it just manages to cheer you up everytime
𝐌𝐚𝐥
• Durring All Stars, all Mal can think about is winning. He doesn't have time for pesky emotions like all the other peons. It'd just slow him down
• "Why do I care if they feel like dirt. It's not my problem they can't keep their eyes on the prize." Mal frowns at the confessional camera deeply. Normally, he'd be downright gleeful at the prospect of someone being thrown off their game. But he can only bring himself to glower
• For the sake up keeping up appearances, and only for the sake of keeping up appearances, he'll approach you this one time
• "Hey there buddy!" He dragged out the y in hey, hair flipped up on his forehead to look like Mike. "What's wrong?"
• Tells himself that he's only doing this to blackmail you later
• Cameras later cut to another one of Mals' confessionals. This time, he refuses to make eye contact with the lense
• "Maybe I helped them feel a little better. So fucking what." He glares. "It's not like I care or anything. Because I don't." Mal makes sure to emphasize that last sentence deeply
• He doesn't seem to mean it
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐚
• His way of comforting you consists of taking his hat off and placing it on your head for you to wear. All while ruffling your hair
• Isn't opposed to sitting and listening to what's got you down in the dumps. He can't promise that he'll offer good advice, but the time spent with you is his way of showing that he cares
• Resorts to sly compliments and winks to try and make you feel better
• "Come on. Let's see that smile! Ah there it is, you beaut!"
• Later, he presents you with a nice rock from some excavating he had been doing for fun. Said it reminded him of you the moment he had dug it out
𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚
• "Zis vill not ztand!"
• Svetlana immediately grabs you by the shoulders and brings you closer to her, an extremely serious look on her face as your eyes widen
• "You are ze best person Svetlana knows!" She furrows her brows. You begin to say something, but she cuts you off immediately. "You vil not slander your amazingness. Svetlana will not alow it!"
• Even if it was just a small self-loathing joke you made, or a giant trauma dump, she'll always act with the same intensity. Will not let you think for a single second that you're worth less than you really are
• Absolutely does silly tricks to cheer you up. Even pretends to fail a couple just to hear you laugh
• "Silly Svetlana!" She sighs dramatically from her spot on the ground, peaking an eye open when you're not looking to smile at the way you laugh
𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐨
• For once in his life time he stops flexing to listen to you
• Is absolutely baffled. Perhaps even a little bamboozled
• "Ayo, I know no one can ever measure up to tha Vito, but you're a close second." He smiles charmingly with his hands on his hips. It's his highest verson of a compliment
• Offers to take you out for a tan session at the lake. Insists that it always makes him feel better and that it will for you to. It's not like he's just saying that so he can see you in a swimsuit. Why would you ever think that?
• "Okay okay, you caught me. But it's only because I think you're smoking ho— ow!"
• Pretends to recoil in pain when you hit him, complaining about how strong you are. Is pleaded when you have to hide a smile at his antics
• "There we go sunshine! Now come on let's go. I know you're just waiting to get a peice of this action on the beach."
• You smile and tell him to shut up
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silly-writes · 9 months
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What if reader was an old childhood friend of some of the competitors (ie Courtney, gwen, bridgette, Heather, duncan, Izzy, cody, etc) with said character(s) having strong feelings for before reader moved away just to come back into their life during one season with reader initially unaware of these returning feelings in said camper.
Bonus: What if reader/camper did get together in that one season, only for next season to have a love triangle form involving another character. The camper is aware of said triangle forming though reader might be oblivious due to now having eyes only for first camper. What'd this be like for different people?
Compretitors with returning feelings for childhood best friend reader!
u guys r really feeding me with these prompts I can't even lie this one was a little tricky with all these moving parts! Sorry if some of these are a little angsty and don't really have happy (per say) conclusions, but I'm just doing what I think best fits the character! I only write pure fluff if that what im given. I hope you enjoy anyways anon!
Courtney
Courtney is beyond stricken when she sees you.
What are the odds you both would have signed up for the same shitty reality tv show?
Well, high as Courtney would tell you. You always were very similar even back when you were inseparable as children.
You knew Courtney was always very fond of you before you moved away, so the reunion is very sweet, and heartfelt.
The two of you attempt to spend a lot of time catching up on what you missed out on after you had moved, but on the show there isn't much time for it.
Courtney can't help but think about how absolutely heartbroken she was when you moved away.
I would think with Courtney's determined attitude (plus based on what she says to Gwen during their friendship) she has made too many friends.
So when you moved away, especially since she was little, it sort of felt like the end of the world to her.
I imagine you being around is wildly distracting for her. Despite her returning romantic feelings.
You were the only person who ever had that type of close vulnerable relationship with her, she would do anything to please you, receive attention from you, or keep you in the game.
All of it leads to some very undesirable slip ups from her, which with you is how I imagine she goes home on the island.
She watched you as she got pulled away, she's not going to leave it unsaid this time, she remembers what that feels like, she remembers how isolating and awful it feels.
"I'm going to miss you ______!" She called out to you from the end of the doc of shame.
You waved wildly "I'm going to win this for you Courtney!" You call back.
"No- I mean! I'm going to miss you because I'm in love with you!"
You stand there stunned as she boards the boat and calls out one final thing "You had bet your butt you'll win this for me! I just confessed my love to you on live television!"
You try to call back that you feel the same, but Chris does what Chris does best and gets in the way of a good time. Even if the boat hadn't driven her off before you got the chance to confess back, the motor is loud enough to where she probably couldn't hear you anyways.
By action, you two have fully discussed your feelings, and how everything should go now that you're into each other but still competitors.
You both agree that your first real official date should be after the show is over, so while things aren't technically official by next season, you two are undoubtedly interested in each other and therefore not getting involved with anyone else.
You stick true to that, but Courtney can see Duncan keeps looking at you, and she's not stupid, she would know that punks gazes in and out.
She doesn't bring it up to you, she knows you're generally very dense about those kinds of things.
But eventually, she can't take it anymore and her jealousy starts driving her mad.
She declares that you two are official, and that you very much are dating, which causes some tension between the two of you during action since you both agreed it just wasn't a good idea.
After some fighting, fighting, and more fighting eventually it's you this time taking the walk of shame to the lame-ousine.
Courtney fights her way to you.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to play out this way!" She says sorrowfully.
But you did, you know just how Courtney is, you know how she gets, and while you didn't fully understand why she did what she did you could've guessed that some kind of fight was inevitable. Plus you know how she gets during competitions.
"Hey don't sweat it," you smile "now that I'm not technically on the show, I don't have as much of a problem doing this-" you say and bring her in for a short and sweet kiss.
After years of waiting for this moment, Coutney can't help but freeze up.
You pull away, and head towards the lame-ousine as she calls "I'll win this for you!"
"You had better win this for me! I just kissed you on live television!" You say smiling as you duck into the back seat.
Gwen
Gwen feels nothing but nervous when reuniting with you.
She was happy to see you sure, but her anxiety held her back in how she displayed that happiness.
She's mainly worried that too much time has passed since the two of you knew each other, and that the two of you won't have anything to talk about anymore.
Eventually the two of you slump back together and things go back to the way that they were before you had moved away.
Another reason she was desperately trying to avoid you at first is because of the huge massive crush she used to have on you.
And dang it of course you had to get cuter as you got older!
Just as she realizes that those feelings for you are slipping out of hiding, is also when she realizes that it's already too late.
Once again the two of you are glued at the hip, just like how it used to be.
You, being who you are and were, are wildly oblivious to these feelings because of course you are.
Gwen isn't one to wear her heart on her sleeve, and even though you two are close she is less so with you, she's been burned before, she's not letting that happen again.
The two of you are sitting next to each other at the talent show when it happens.
Heather goes up on stage and says "Originally I was going to dance for you, but instead I want to celebrate team spirit with a collaboration" She holds up a dark notebook with an evil look plastered on her face.
Gwen seems to recognize it and instantly freezes up "Gwen? Are you okay?" You asked, knowing immediately something was off.
"She wouldn't," she says, and then braces herself.
"So with words by Gwen, performance by me, enjoy."
She cleared her throat before beginning "Okay so I've been trying to ignore them. But they're just so cute! I know it's been forever since we've seen each other and in that time they have gotten so hot! Out of all my childhood friends, of course it had to be them."
Gwen dashes away from the bleachers, and Heather seems satisfied.
Of course you run after Gwen to comfort her.
She lamented on and on about how you must think she's such a creep now, and was acting like a total school girl, still writing in a diary.
But of course you didn't feel like that at all, this was Gwen you were talking about here. The cool, collected, funny quiet girl, and you were obsessed with her.
You two start getting a little more romantic after that, and Heather seeing her plan to drive a wedge between the two of you did not work realizes she has to get her hands messy and plays a little bit more of a direct role in getting you eliminated.
It's a sorrowful goodbye until you see her again in action.
Bridgette
Reuniting with Bridgette is nothing but vibes.
She's beyond stoked to see you again, and even more stoked to ride the wave with you again.
I imagine the two of you met at the beach, and it was love at first sight for her.
You two click all over again like no time has gone past, and she fills you in on every little thing you've missed.
Things are super cut and dry with Bridgette, no mess, nothing but chillness.
She makes her feelings pretty clear, with some hints and stuff.
She learned her lesson the first time, letting you leave without having ever told you how she really felt hurt in ways she wasn't ready to feel again.
But if you don't pick up on it she'll just flat out tell you.
"I'm not doing this cause you're my team mate, I'm doing it cause I like you. You dork."
"I like you too Bridge, you know that."
"Not like that-!" She exclaimed, splashing you playfully, rocking the canoe as she did "-like like like you."
You stare at her in disbelief for a moment.
"what?!" you exclaim.
"Do you not feel the same?" She frowned.
"No I do... I just wasn't expecting-" she cuts you off tackling you rocking the whole boat as she does.
The rest is history and you two are pretty much inseparable from that point onward.
Up until World Tour, where Alejandro starts becoming a plane wide problem.
He tries targeting you at first, but youre so in love with Bridgette he can't get any headway.
But Bridgette being stuck on an opposing team leaves her exposed to his manipulation, he lies about you and makes her question her loyalty.
After she gets stuck to a pole, you find her, but when she explains what happened you just feel so hurt and betrayed that you leave her in the dust (or well, snow).
After a world tour it takes a lot of apologizing and healing to get over what happened between the two of you but you're both determined to make it work so you both put your strongest foot forward and work at it.
Heather
Heather is absolutely stunned when she sees you.
You greet her excitedly when she hits you with a "hello? Earth to nerd, I don't know you!"
That's enough to keep you away from her for a while.
She 100% is only pretending not to know who you are, but what choice did she have? She couldn't risk her feelings for you returning and ruining her chances at winning.
Close tender friendships like you used to have were bad for her image now, she had an impression to keep in this competition and she'd be dead in the ground before she let you or anyone else come in the way of that.
Her tenderness for you starts to show through and through though, you know her like the back of your hand, still, even after all these years.
You'd recognize those glances anywhere, and you knew it meant more than just being a strong team mate when she would point out all the ways in which you did well in the challenges. She was trying to keep you in the game.
The two of you never have any heart to hearts, nothing like that anyways.
She never reveals that she does remember you, not even as you watch her fade into the horizon on the boat of losers.
World tour she's more determined than ever, you've never seen her so deranged to win.
I'd imagine the love triangle would have more to do with her and Alejandro then you and anyone else.
She becomes torn between the two of you, and the inherit struggle in trying to pick over someone who actually matched her wit, and her childhood best friend and longest crush.
She makes her decision when she inevitably votes you out.
"Heather... you voted for me?" You asked, heart breaking, eyes already feeling wet.
She scoffs, "Don't take it so personally."
You sniffle a little bit, and then shake your head "I should've known better than to fall for your two faced snake self twice." You spit.
And with that you're gone.
She's not stupid, she's not forgetful either, and you knew that she knew just what "twice" really meant.
But she'd dug her grave now, she would just have to hope it could hold a million bucks.
Duncan
The meeting with him is very awkward I'd imagine.
He'd likely pretend not to know you until he can get a moment alone with you.
I would imagine he's largely embarrassed of your relationship due to the fact that he met you before his Juvie days, and you were one of the only people who had known him before he became nothing more than a delinquent.
So yeah, he's hell bent on making sure people don't find out about you two knowing each other.
But we all know deep down Duncan is a totally sweetie, even if it is deep, deep, deep down. His affection for you is bound to show one way or another.
Ever the observant one I'm sure it was Courtney who noticed first, marveling at how strange it was that you two of all people had romantic feelings for each other.
She urged the two of you together, subtly, attempting to be your sort of wingman, unbeknownst to even you.
Eventually Duncan works towards getting her voted out because of this, he's so obsessed with keeping his bad boy persona he'd do just about anything in this competition to keep it up. Even risk losing a million big ones.
You knew something was fishy about Courtney getting voted, but you couldn't put your finger on what. At least not until you heard him in the confessionals.
"I had to get that Courtney chick voted out, she was getting too close. I hate people who get to close,"
"Duncan!" you exclaim.
You can hear him mutter curses from the outhouse.
"Forget it! You know I can't believe I was actually starting to like you again!"
After that it's a nonstop battle for Duncan to win back your affections.
I would imagine the love triangle would consist of you, Duncan, and of course, Courtney.
She would start falling for you based on the way you shamelessly defended her despite your feelings for Duncan.
Only problem for you was those feelings hadn't exactly gone away since last season, and you were still very much into him.
You three fight a lot, and are the reason all three of you end up going home.
Which leaves nothing but time to work out your messy feelings for Duncan, and his for you.
But maybe time is really all the two of you need.
Izzy
Izzy is a bit of a wild card (obviously).
I feel like reuniting with her is just super duper chaotic, and very overwhelming at first.
She wants to fill you in on every little detail in her life within the same second she sees you again.
But you remember how to rein her in, she really hasn't changed much from the chaotic messy kid she was. (save for being a criminal now (whoops!)).
You being in the challenge with her would keep her much more rallied and motivated towards an understandable goal.
She can feel those intimate feelings creeping back, but she isn't shy with it.
I imagine she probably would've confessed to you once before, when you first moved, only neither of you wanted to try out long distance and thought it might only ruin what a good friendship you had. So through your move you decided to just stay friends.
You don't get long to sit and wonder about if those feelings still linger for her as they do for you when she abruptly asks
"So hey, are you interested in dating during the competition?" she asked, sitting beside you, anything but shy.
"What?"
Izzy was nothing if not explorative, she collected new experiences like pokemon cards, and she wanted to live fully every part of life.
"It might be a little bit messy. But I think maybe it could work, if all that was keeping you was distance the first time... well... I'm here now."
She stares at you with an expectant kind of rare almost nervous look, and though the confession is anything but picturesque, with her, it's perfect.
I think the love triangle would come in with her next season with maybe Alejandro falling for you.
Hard to say whether his attempts at flirting are due to advancing in the game, or genuine attraction. Either way you have trouble picking up on it, especially when things are going so well with Izzy.
I wouldn't say Izzy isn't a jealous person, I just think she could fall either way, depending on the person, depending on the day, the humidity in the air, basically on nothing at all. She's nothing if not erratic.
With Alejandro, she might be inclined to threaten him with her license to kill depending on her mood, and depending on what he tries to pull with you.
Cody
The reunion with Cody is one that is very heartfelt, and he instantly lights up upon seeing you.
You can see that he's fairly committed to his "too cool for school" schtick, so having any genuine connection with him might be a little tricky.
He's one person I feel like would have definitely tried to keep in contact with, it wasn't anything like every day phone calls, but the two of you had definitely spent at least some time sending letters back and forth.
So when you too meet there isn't a lot of catching up to do, only some.
He's overall very excited to see you back, and you know him enough to know that, even if he's refusing to show it.
You can feel those creeping feelings sneak up on you until the hit you smack in the face during one of the challenges.
"Cody!" you exclaimed during one of the challenges as he hit the ground hard.
"I'm fine," he lied, his voice strangled, the wind having been knocked out of him wholly.
You helped him up, and picked up a piece of paper that had tumbled out of his pocket and went bouncing a few feet.
At first you mistake it for trash, but with the way that even injured and put out Cody grabs for it, you figure it must be something good.
You were due for a little bit of teasing when you decided to open it, only to realize that it was a letter from you.
It's an old one, a really old one, perhaps even the first one you'd ever sent.
"Uhhh... how'd that get in there!?" He exclaims, swiping it out of your hands which are too stunned to fight against it.
Realization dawns on you just as quickly, there is only one reason he'd would've kept that with him after all those years.
"Oh my god Cody, you like me!"
The rest is history, and you two start dating among the challenges.
The conflict would come with Sierra I would think, who's hell bent on breaking you two apart.
All of her attempts fall flat unfortunately for her, and you two stand as one of the more healthy and strong relationships within the show.
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fantastic-nonsense · 5 months
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honestly I think if you complain about Star Wars focusing too much on the Skywalkers because "the galaxy is bigger than one family" and "not everything has to be connected" you have fundamentally missed the point George Lucas was trying to make with the original movies.
Star Wars is VERY deliberately an optimistic, cyclical, and myth-based family drama structured around a single family's story, and that purposefully generational story is the story George Lucas saw as the core point and purpose of Star Wars:
“It’s the missing link,” Lucas says. “Once it’s there, it’s a complete work, and I’m proud of that. I do see it, tonality-wise, as two trilogies. But they do, together, form one epic of fathers and sons.” [x] The first three movies had all kinds of issues. [Disney] looked at the stories and they said we want to make something for the fans. So I said all I want to do is tell the story of what happened. You know, it started here and it went there. It's all about generations and it's about, you know, the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers; it's a family soap opera. I mean, ultimately. We call it a space opera, but people don't realize it's actually a soap opera. And it's all about family problems — it's not about spaceships. [x]
He also wrote Star Wars for the express purpose of attempting to teach people that everything is interconnected and everything we do has an impact that resonates beyond our own lives:
Paul Duncan: "It takes a lot of people to build the ark." George Lucas: "Yeah. And it needs to be done through reason, love, and compassion, not through force. The films are trying to stress the idea that everything is interconnected. I like to make movies that are complex, but it's not obvious to people unless they start digging into it. Most people don't realize it and can't grasp the whole entity because they're focusing on four or five pieces out of 200, and often they don't want to hear about the other pieces because it requires additional thought and ideas outsides of the films. There are cycles and cycles in the story and the characters throughout all six episodes. There are cycles of the same thing being repeated over and over with different groups of people, and the outcomes change because the characters have grown or changed over the story. The repitition shows the characters' development. [x]
GEORGE LUCAS: At some point you do have to become an independent person. And it’s about learning to let go of your — your needs, so to speak, and — and think of the needs of others. BILL MOYERS: So “Star Wars” is — yes, it’s about cosmic, galactic, epic struggles, but it’s at heart about a family. The large myth set in a local family. GEORGE LUCAS: Well, in most — most myths center around characters and — and a hero, and it’s — it’s about how you — how you conduct yourself as you go through the hero’s journey, which everyone goes through. It’s especially relevant when you go through this transition phase. Most societies it’s when you’re 13 or 14. In our society it’s sort of 18 to 22, somewhere in there, that you must let go of your past and must, you know, embrace your future and — and in your own self, by yourself, figure out what it is — what — what path you’re going to go down........... .......BILL MOYERS: And what do stories do for us in that sense? What do myths... GEORGE LUCAS: They try to show us our place. Myths help you to have your own hero’s journey, find your individuality, find your place in the world, but hopefully remind you that you’re part of a whole, and that you must also be part of the community, and — and think of the welfare of the community above the welfare of yourself. [x]
Lucas structured this tale in two ways: through Anakin's deconstructed hero's journey (in the form of a Greek tragedy) and Luke's straightforward hero's journey (culminating with Anakin's redemption) and showing us how this one family's multi-generational story had a huge impact that went beyond their own lives and echoed throughout the galaxy. That was the point!
While there are plenty of other stories not centered on the Skywalkers that can and should be told within the universe, ultimately people need to keep in mind that Lucas was not shy about his intentions in making the movies: he WANTED to write a straightforward retelling of "old stories," and he wanted to do it through the lens of a personal family narrative.
All of the Star Wars material that focuses on non-Skywalkers (which has ALWAYS been around, Rogue One and TLJ and The Mandalorian and Andor and etc etc etc were NOT the first ones to do that) is great, but it's a bonus! An add-on to the core story and point of the franchise! It's not that they're unimportant, because they're not, but at some point it should stop surprising people when the Skywalkers and/or the events of the original six movies get referenced or utilized.
It just bothers me when I hear these complaints because like...if you don't like the Skywalkers, why do you even watch Star Wars? None of those other stories would exist without them! Please just go enjoy another sci-fi franchise and stop complaining that the main characters of Star Wars are being focused on or are popping up in places it makes total sense for them to be!
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manicpixiefelix · 3 months
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Demifey!Oliver will get the zoomies like cats do, so he's just running so fast around Saltburn at 3 am or something. Felix finds it adorable and Venetia laughs seeing Oliver zipping back and forth on all fours
Incredibly enchanted by the idea of Oliver waking up at an odd hour feeling like he needs to just roam, trying not to disturb Felix and Reader as he climbs out of bed, but then he's just hit by the Creature Urge To Go Fast. I also think he tries to limit his more animalistic powers/appearance around most other people/in public, both because it allows other Fae who may try and have their own pet/champion eventually face him, but also because he likes looking more like the version of who Reader and Felix are while in their glamour, which they often are in public.
That being said, all that goes out the window when he gets the zoomies. His pupils get so wide like a cat in Silly Mode. He's zipping through the house via every surface. His claws are in the walls and the ceiling (Duncan will be huffy about it for three minutes before you pout and tell him not to be mean to Ollie).
Felix will be the one to wake up and go to the door, and the minute it opens Ollie freezes, crouched and looking like an absolute cryptid, looking like he's been caught red-handed, just above one of the windows.
Felix, yawning, doesn't even get through telling him gently that yes, he loves him and he thinks these bouts of Need for Speed are very cute, but it's three in the morning - Oliver is practically tackling Felix, the zoomies also translating to affection, and wanting to be all wrapped up in Felix and you and he loves you both so so much -
"I was going to say you can go have a run outside, it's just a bit loud on the walls," Felix sometimes finds himself so caught up in how much he adores Ollie. Like now. The Demifae has his face in his hands, squishing his cheeks, making faces, giving Felix quick kisses on different parts of his face every few moments.
"Don't wanna go outside," Ollie says distractedly, now enthusiastically beginning to run his fingers through Felix's hair - needs to be touching him, touching him, touching him so much -
"Then you need to calm down if you want to come back to bed," Felix's voice is so sweet, even as he takes both of Ollie's hands, holding his wrists together to keep him still for the moment. It seems to settle something in Oliver, who finally meets Felix's gaze, still eager but far more tame and obedient.
"I can be calm," he insists.
"You can be calm?" Felix smiles, and the two of them heading back to the bed where you were still thankfully resting, undisturbed. Oliver nods with great enthusiasm.
"I can be very calm," Oliver whispers, making a pointed effort to not disturb you, "I'll be the most calm if I sleep in the middle; I'm all done being fast, I promise." Of course Felix caves with a smile. Oliver is clearly incredibly pleased with himself, and is always glad when he gets to snuggle up between you both.
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veliseraptor · 26 days
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March Reading Recap
Juliet: The Life and Afterlives of Shakespeare's First Tragic Heroine by Sophie Duncan. I actually really liked this one! It was an interesting look at several different lenses that have been used over time to look at Juliet (specifically Juliet, not the play), including the relationship between fascism and Juliet in Verona, Italy and the development of West Side Story (didn't know Juliet was Jewish in an early version). I enjoy sort of niche/specific books focusing on a very particular subject, and this book scratched that itch well.
The Brilliant Abyss: Exploring the Majestic Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean, and the Looming Threat That Imperils It by Helen Scales. I read this book too soon after The Underworld by Susan Casey which, while not necessarily a better book, covered a lot of the same terrain. The trouble with a keen interest in a niche topic is, I suppose, that the books on it can start to get repetitive sometimes. It was still good, though, and this one focused a bit less on the history of human exploration than Casey did and a bit more on the ecosystems themselves, which I did welcome.
Blood of the Chosen and Emperor of Ruin by Django Wexler. The second and third books in the series that started with Ashes of the Sun - both continued the trend of "I don't know that I'd call these particularly good works of literature but they were very enjoyable and propulsive." The second book was stronger than the third - I ended up feeling like the conclusion of the trilogy was weaker and a little rushed, but I still enjoyed the experience as a whole and would offer at least a tentative, general recommendation of the series for those looking for a fantasy series that's not particularly innovative or serious but is an exciting ride.
The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis. This book reminded me a little bit of Such Desperate Glory but wasn't quite as well done, I don't think. The back compared it to Mass Effect but I don't really see that as a reasonable comparison. Possibly one of my favorite things about it was the cover design, which fucks. I still liked it, though, and I'm going to read the sequel.
The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper. Sometimes when I read things I feel like a snot because I go "this is interesting information but the writing feels a little amateurish" and that was my situation with this book. It was good analysis and interesting to read, though sometimes the "and this is how this is modern-ly relevant! q-anon mention" felt a little bit...ehhh, unnecessary, but the writing itself was...yeah. It felt amateurish. Which might just be a result of the book itself being targeted at a particular audience that's less academically-minded than I am, that's certainly possible, but it did affect my enjoyment of the book.
Last Days by Adam Nevill. Mostly this was good spooky fun, though it lost me with the "the ultimate bad guy is an overweight bisexual actor with AIDS" (it's a little more complicated than that, but not enough). Too bad, because conceptually and in terms of imagery it could've been very good. Between this and my last Nevill, I might have to give future books a pass. My search for horror that isn't playing on bigoted tropes apparently continues, since I'm on a bit of a streak there with this and Ring.
China: A History by John Keay. I'd call this one a solid overview despite the choice to use "bureaux" for the plural. However, I'm taking a lot of it with a grain of salt since as far as I can tell he didn't use many or possibly any Chinese secondary sources, and relied primarily for quotations/analysis on English secondary sources. I would've liked to see more of a balance. Still, as far as background information and a general broad history goes, it feels like it was worth reading for me to get a little more background/grounding in history I don't have a lot of familiarity with. (Also, holy shit did Ken Liu crib hard on Liu Bang and Xiang Yu for The Grace of Kings and now I know that.)
Remnants of Filth: vol. 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou. I continue to really enjoy this book and this volume might be my favorite yet - the flashbacks were satisfying to fill in some of the gaps in mysteries as yet unrevealed, and having Gu Mang fully "back" (more or less) is a fun development that is already having consequences changing the dynamic between him and Mo Xi in delightfully angsty ways. Of the cnovels I'm currently in the middle of this one is close to LHJC as far as my favorite.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi. This one is what I think people would call a "romp" which is all well and good and I probably should've known what I was getting into, but I think I am just not much of a "romp" reader. It was fun, I guess? But I don't know that I felt like it was good, and I'm probably not going to go around recommending it. My first Scalzi, and I don't know if that's typical of him, but I probably won't be in a hurry to pick up another one anytime soon.
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation ed./trans. by Ken Liu. Short story collections are really hit and miss for me, but this was actually a collection that was pretty hit all the way through! Very interesting stories, a couple I'm still thinking about. I'm looking forward to reading my other collection of short stories in translation, which includes some fantasy - some of these actually felt somewhere between fantasy and science fiction in a very interesting way that I liked.
--
phew. I read a lot last month! Currently I'm reading Medea by Eilish Quin (we'll see how that goes); I have on my docket The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (recommended to me) and I think I might reread She Who Became the Sun so I can read He Who Drowned the World. I've been on more of a fiction than a nonfiction kick of late, but I am eyeing Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn and might make that part of my rotation. we shall see!
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thebearme · 4 months
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OH WAIT MY DUMBASS FORGOT TO ALSO ASK BTW IF YOU HAVE ANY HEADCANONS ON CAMERON OR GWEN
Imma just gonna start with Cam first, and let me just tell you Cameron I projected the most on because even after my "ihatehim no ilovehim" phase so idk maybe some of this could be out of character srry.
I imagine Cameron is south African, particularly Zimbabwean.
His a walking nerd emoji.
The only pass time Cam had was to draw bugs. So he's REALLY GOOD at drawing bugs. Only bugs. Everything else looks like it's from the diary of a wimpy kid.
Cam not that keen of physical touch but slowly getting used to it cuz of Mike. Mike also trying to remember that everyone is open on surprise hugs.
Idk why but with Zoey and Cam's relationship I just think of Carly and Freddie but without the crush.
Gwen and Cam would have art trades together.
Cam got the dryess hands in existence because of the amount of hand sanitizer he uses. OCD GAND RISE UP!
Im saying this now but Cam and B would TOTALLY VIBE TOGETHER!! i just don't know their intentions are yet so dont ask..
Lightning and Cam would have hangout if not for the cheating thing.
Duncan once asked Cam if he can draw a mural of his pet spider Scruffy.
Sam would take it as his personal duty to teach Cam in the way of being a gamer. By teaching him the Zelda timeline and the lore of FNAF. May god rest Cam soul after that.
Cam doesn't not do well with the more active people in Mike's system like Svetlana and Manitoba. They try to be gentle with him but they just don't know their strengths and Manitoba canonically eats dirt so there's only so much they can hangout.
Vito doesn't vibe with nerds but he does occasional try to back him up if he's getting bullied. ONLY if Vito himself isn't bullying Cam.
Cameron actually has the best relationship with Chester. He loves hearing history and old facts and Chester loves the excuse to chat someone's ears off.
Mal and Cam have more of a neutral relationship with each other but I can definitely see Mal thinking his just some weakling nerd until Cam shows him he knows how to make the Demon core.
Cam and Mike started a hate Scott club. Although Cam feels alil bad about, he tends to be reminded of why they started this club every time they go back to their cabin.
Cam once witnessed Scott use the bathroom without washing his hands. And never liked him since.
There was one time between season, Mike, Cam and Zoey were going on a little road trip. Z & M both ask what song should they play next? Cam said he doesn't know any songs so maybe just play the Ice cream truck theme. And that's when they find out HOW sheltered this boy is.
I would get into the nitty gritty but Cam's mom is NOT a good mom. Zoey and Mike have beef with her (Zoey trys to have the benefit of the doubt and said she just too over protective while Mike legit DONT like her.)
They both make sure that Cam gets as much outside time as possible and learn to have a life outside of his house.
When Cam goes to college is going aboard as an entomologist.
When Cameron first came on TD he didn't know what to wear because obviously he's never been outside so it a mixture of hot and cold clothes. Bro don't know fashion but it's his outfit changes in All Stars.
He's wearing a puffer jacket because it reminds him of a sleeping bag and makes him cozy + it has a cooling system inside thanks to B.
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p-redux · 8 months
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PSA and Update: Regarding the Sasnak City private fan event on August 26, 2023 with Sam Heughan, Duncan LaCroix, and Charles Vandervaart...
Predictably, I woke up to some hate Anons in my Inbox. And also to an Ask from a go-between person sending me screencaps of a message from the Sasnak City ORGANIZER herself. The message was directed at me and my event source and she gave the go-between person permission to share the screencaps with me. The organizer is very upset that my source shared the event info with me and that I posted it publicly. And she goes as far as saying that because the info was shared, that this will be the end of any more Sasnak City events with Sam et al. C'mon now, I know I'm dramatic, but that's a bit over the top.
Lets' be real, people talk. It's human nature. And A LOT of people talk to me and share things with me. It's naive to think that an event with Sam Heughan will remain completely private. I heard at least a handful of other people who were at the event were also sharing info with people. I have a big audience and my blog is public, so it will have a wider reach, but still, others besides me did the same thing. I didn't sign an NDA and my blog is literally about posting insider info, scoops, etc. That's the way celeb blogs work.
As for the source who was at the event and gave me the info. She asked me to not post until 9:00 PM PST because that would make it 12:00 AM EST, which is the NEXT day. I could see being upset if any info about the event was posted AHEAD of time, or even DURING the event...but NOTHING was posted until AFTER the event was over.
As for Sam et al still being in the city where the event was held and fans possibly going to the airport to wait for them today...um, that's showbiz, baby...Sam has been photographed with fans waiting for him at airports for YEARS. He knows it's part of the deal of being famous. An airport is a public place. This does not put him in "danger," dramatic much? IF any fans go to the airport and get pics with Sam et al, that's literally ALL that it will be--a pic with a fan, not an assassination attempt FFS.
As I was in the middle of writing this, I received a message from someone else saying that the organizer is thinking of "suing." Um, suing WHO? I'm Anon and I didn't sign an NDA, so I can't be sued. And my source is also Anon, I don't know her real name, and I NEVER reveal sources, unless they give me permission. That's why people trust me and know they can come to me with info. You can only sue for breach of NDA if you can serve an identifiable person. There is no identifiable person here.
But, now I'm the one getting angry. The organizer is worried this will be the end of any Sam related Sasnak City events and is making a HUGE stink behind the scenes. It would be in the organizer's best interest to let this go, and stand down. I'd be worried about Sam finding out that she's THREATENING other fans, i.e. ME and my source who was at the event and provided info AFTER the fact.
I won't share the screencap of the organizer's message to me, but let's just say, it's very apparent she overestimates her importance. No one is curing cancer here, it's an expensive, exclusive fan convention. Nothing more, nothing less. Sam goes because he gets paid. Simple as that. Sam is super chill about everything, he doesnt care about any of this drama. I literally know people in L.A. who know him. Keep paying him and he will continue to attend. 🤷‍♀️ Just like any other celeb. Sasnak City events will continue.
It seems to me the organizer is more upset the info was posted before SHE could post it. I outscooped her about her own event--I get that would piss her off. But again, we're talking about a celeb con here, not state secrets.
I've been here a long time, I know how to play this game, who the players are, and people who can relay messages directly to Sam. You don't want to mess with me. Trust.
Again, I would just let this go, chalk it up to, "the event was a success, Sam knows we try our best to keep things private, but leaks happen, it's just how it is," and MOVE ON.
Deep breaths. I'll be at a pool party for a few hours, will check in here and there until later.
People are dying out there in this country and all over the world...let's keep things in perspective...
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weirdowithaquill · 2 months
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I think it's time you consider sharing your Duke and Rheneas ship concept (and the pufflings' sabotage efforts!) with the world 🙏
My memory is that they were too cute to languish forever only in DMs
Your memory is correct! And also really good! This conversation was months ago!
But here goes nothing - how I ended up shipping Rheneas and Duke:
It all begins with a certain @jobey-wan-kenobi and shipping Skarloey and Neil. These two are very important for Dukeas (Rhenuke?) - so let's cover them first.
These two are terrible at flirting. Like, legitimately bad. Neil gets a repaint when he's bought by the Crovan's Gate Mining Company (into SKR red!!) and Skarloey attempts to flirt and be suave to capture Neil's heart. Here's how he does:
"I like seeing you in my colour--" So far so good - but the engines don't really have good metaphors for clothes so it sort of falls apart: "--it would look better on... uh... oh..." Human pickup lines don't really work for engines, do they? Neil is so confused, and Skarloey is dying of embarrassment (the fireman said that it would totally work!)
Rheneas laughs himself sick.
Skarloey - after grumbling about Rheneas laughing at him - swallows his pride and asks his brother for help. (Side note - this is where our conversation started. We were talking about how the SKR is more interesting for family-values in the RWS.)
Rheneas has never had a crush before, and so his best idea is: "Why not ask him to double head a train with you?" Now, those of you who've instantly spotted the problem with narrow gauge Skarloey and standard gauge Neil double heading a train are doing better than these two hopeless idiots.
But Skarloey is not to be deterred! So he builds 'the truck' to pull trains on the standard gauge railway! Ah... but there's not enough traffic for double heading, so none of the managers will allow it.
It's not like Neil is any better though - this is the same boxy engine who saw Skarloey and went "he's so cute, but I'm too ugly for him..." at which point his crew face-palmed. So his crew convinced Neil to invite Skarloey to hang out at the works while he's being repainted into NWR colours (circa 1915). So Skarloey's there when he's sanded down and repainted.
Skarloey gets a nosebleed and passes out.
And Neil thinks that Skarloey just fell asleep! Even as the mechanics at Crovan's Gate are gathering around him to study him because no engine has ever had a nosebleed before, oh my goodness look at our discovery!
These two are disasters.
Peter Sam is no help either. Peter Sam is about as innocent as a three-year-old (Duke was not going to let no dock workers sully His Puffling, thank you very much) so his best advice is to: "Sing to him!" "What song?" "Uh..." Peter Sam doesn't do proper songs, he makes up ditties! What do you mean, wooing the boxy engine involves actually knowing music?
Skarloey just skips over asking Sir Handel for advice. Which is probably for the best, considering Sir Handel's attempt at flirting was to basically stun Gordon by talking his ear off and insulting his own coaches.
Yeah... none of these engines are very good at this.
But yeah, it probably takes until Rusty and Duncan figure themselves out for Skarloey to get some good advice. Cause of all the engines on the SKR, these two are the first to get into an actual relationship (with each other, but it's not Duncan's first, let's be honest). So, here's this centennarian-and-then-some engine that is Skarloey needing his romance to be chaperoned by these two youngsters... AND IT WORKS!
Finally he has the wingengines he needs: a foul-mouthed factory worker and something called a 'diesel'.
And Rheneas is still laughing in the background.
But it works! Skarloey buys some flowers with his driver's money and asks Neil out - and Neil says yes! (Let's all just headcanon that he was the Crovan's Gate Works engine at this point, okay? Okay.) Rheneas's first words upon hearing this are lost to time, but were either "Oh thank God" or "FINALLY!"
He is very lucky that he is at the works and hears about it there, or else he'd have gotten into a massive argument. But at the same time, he's rather sad, cause he's been using this romantic trainwreck as his entertainment for the last 100 odd years, throwing out slightly bogus suggestions to stir up the drama.
These two are going steady enough in 1965 for Skarloey to tease Neil by calling him "ugly but kind" in front of the Reverend - who accidentally takes it to heart.
We are all very lucky that said Anglican Reverend was out of earshot when Neil shot back a quip about nosebleeds.
But this is Rheneas' life up until 1970 - it's spent doing his job and laughing at his brother's absolutely hilarious and terrible love life. But romance? No, it's not in his cards...
And then Duke arrives.
And Rheneas goes “oh no, he’s hot.”
Rheneas immediately goes to his brother - because they're brothers, and they're supposed to help one another - completely forgetting the past 100 years.
Skarloey bursts into laughter. And then tells Neil, who also laughs. Rheneas is humbled with his own crush on Duke - much to his consternation.
But it’s worse cause Rheneas has to deal with two very overprotective children. See, Sir Handel and Peter Sam don't want to share their Granpuff. Cause they see Rheneas as a friend, not a weird step-grandpa, so stop butting in on our family. These boys have Granpuff-related trauma, and they are not handing over their Granpuff to just any old puffball. Duke for his part thinks Rheneas is cute - but his pufflings just keep calling him "a bad influence" - which is hilariously ironic considering Sir Handel.
Of course, being Peter Sam and Sir Handel, they also do their 'sunshine and thunder thing': "I think it's nice!" "You WOULD." Which naturally evolves into good-cop-bad-cop as Peter Sam is swayed by Sir Handel (and a sniggering Skarloey, but Skarloey's always had the best of intentions, right?)
Rheneas takes his own advice and asks to double head a train (cause at least he's the same gauge!) and Sir Handel slots himself in. Duke thinks it's sweet that Sir Handel is trying to spend more time with him. Rheneas is pulling his metaphorical hair out (oh, he knows - but he's also messing with Rheneas. He also talks to Skarloey).
Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for everyone? Rheneas is just being interrogated in the background while Duke does a deadpan to some documentary crew like he’s in the Office: “This has been going on for 25 years. I have been dating Rheneas for 20 of those years.”
He has conveniently forgotten to mention this fact to Sir Handel and Peter Sam...
And that should have been that.
Right?
No. Cause then we talked about humanisations - and the story picked back up, only now we have to jump back to the year Duke got together with Rheneas. Now, for some reason or another (I blame the boulder), the entire SKR crew (Neil included) are suddenly turned human. After a few days of figuring out how being human works (cause we take most of three decades before we settle into 'humaning' - these engines are gonna need some help), they begin to act as normally as a bunch of engines-turned-humans can. There was one occasion where Peter Sam bear-walked across the yard because he couldn't figure out how walking worked, and humans have four legs! "Those are hands." "Good enough for walking!"
See, the engines pop into being human with bodies and clothes (this is important) - and for the most part, it's pretty stock standard. Rusty has overalls, Duncan has a few piercings, Sir Handel gets wheelie shoes (for his steamroller wheels!) and Duke has a massive overcoat that makes him look - for lack of a better term - rather chubby.
And he does nothing to dissuade the other engines from this line of thinking. On the surface, it makes sense after all! Duke has his large saddle tank, which translated over.
So it comes as a great surprise to everyone when Duke takes off his overcoat after the engine Duncan (who was pulling them in one of the passenger coaches) derails. Duke is not fat - no, he's been hiding tools in his overcoat... like a crowbar. In fact, Duke randomly takes off his shirt too so he can use said crowbar to lever Duncan back onto the rails all by himself (the shirt was... uh... too constricting?).
Rheneas gets a nosebleed - only none of the engines know how human nosebleeds work and panic. This of course tips Duke off that yes, Rheneas does have a thing for him.
So, Duke basically tortures Rheneas for weeks by volunteering to join the track-workers gang, and wearing a singlet and he has arms, why does he have arm muscles he is a steam engine! (I told someone about this, and they said - and I quote: "It's cause they're always pumping iron!")
Duke also keeps Werther's Originals in his overcoat to distribute to both his Pufflings and the local schoolchildren. Rheneas' heart cannot handle the adorableness.
This of course led to Rheneas confessing to Duke in the rain after the stationmaster's cat got lost. Rheneas had thought Duke would think he was cool if he found said cat first and rushed off... and fell into a ditch and sprained his ankle cause he's a human now, and people don't walk normal, why don't they have wheels - (oh wait, that's what trains are for). Rheneas had saved the cat, and then Duke helped him, asked why Rheneas ran off and didn't stick with the search party - and so Rheneas confessed in the moment. Very cliche romantic, but so am I a bit.
So that's how Duke and Rheneas ended up as a couple. A bit of magic, a whole lot of Duke's family torturing Rheneas and a missing cat.
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northern-passage · 5 months
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Are you able to talk about how you're going to approach Lea's character arc on the rival reassignment route?
Will it be a case of variances versus outher routes, flavour text, Lea going off with other companions at certain points in place of the Hunter?
I ask because admittedly I thought this is content we would not see on their route. Much like how certain choices can lock us out of a romance, I figured the same would apply for non-romance content.
Although typing that, in that scenario I guess if the player played their cards right, they could end up in a situation where the companions are just dropping one-liners like it's a post-story Bioware game.
That would make the Hunter a very lonely, lonely person. Eh, moreso than they currently are given everything.
yeah for the most part the scenes are just going to be different, but the same information will be relayed to the player.
you can potentially miss out on some scenes if you piss Lea off too much, or any of the companions for that matter; there are scenes in the second half of ch2 with Noel, for instance, that can make him very angry with you and will change the way that scene goes, and if you've been romancing him you'll miss out on a potential romantic scene since he'll cut the conversation short. same with Merry. Clementine is the only one exempt from this in ch2 because i don't give you the option to be mean to them 😇 but their scenes will differ whether or not they got hurt or if you traded them or not, etc.
with Lea, the structure of the scene and the dialogue choices will change, depending on your relationship, as well as how they respond to the dialogue depending on whether or not you agreed to talk to them later, or if you reaffirmed your partnership, if you yelled at them or let them down gently...
choices in one scene if you're "rivals":
choice 1: "I wanted a clean break." choice 2: "…I don't know." choice 3: "I think I just wanted to hurt you." choice 4: "I had to do something!"
versus the same scene and choices as "partners":
choice 1: "I don't know." choice 2: "I thought I could just ignore it..." choice 3: "I was scared." choice 4: "I don't trust you, Lea."
and, again, the exchange leading up to these choices is also different, mainly the tone and attitude of Lea, though the same information is exchanged. and there's a whole other set of scenes for if Lea is injured by Duncan that vary in the same way.
if you want to see it in action i would point you over to my other work, blood choke, which is farther along relationship-wise than tnp and has a significant amount of branching depending on how you treat the characters.
(hopefully this also sheds some light on why this shit is taking me so long to write 💀 lmfao)
there are going to be points of no return with the companions, you can potentially be locked out of Clem's and Lea's romance routes already, and if you're rivalry crosses the line into actively hostile, the companions will respond likewise. i wouldn't say it locks you out of their story arc, but it will change it, if that makes sense.
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tdinyomomma · 8 months
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The Big Sleep- TDI x Reader story (ch:three)
If you haven’t read: Two
An air horn goes off and Leshawna shoots up, hitting her head. "Ow! It's 7:00 in the morning. Do I look like a farmer to you?" She shouts out the window. I tiredly laugh, yawning. We all get dressed making our way outside.
"Morning! Hope you slept well!" Chris greets us. "Hi Chris, you look really buff in those shorts." Heather feeds into his already major ego, fluffing him up. "I know." He winks, snapping at her. "Okay, I hope you're all ready because your next challenge begins in exactly one minute." Chris taps his wrist. "Oh, excuse me, I don't know if that's enough time to eat breakfast." Owen speaks up, clearly in distress about it. "Oh, you'll get breakfast Owen, right after you complete your 20 kilometer run around the lake." He announces, pointing to the body of water in front of us.
"Oh, so you're funny now?" Eva raises a brow. "You know what I think would be funny-" Geoff and Duncan hold her back from getting at the host of the show who's completely unbothered. "Eva, try to control your temper." Courtney whispers but gets ignored, "You're enjoying this aren't you?" She raises a fist. "A little." Chris admits.
"You have 30 seconds." He taunts, pointing at his watch. I just start walking to the lake, Cody jogs after me. "What?" I ask and he just grins. "Okay... then..."
We get into a line. "Okay, runners! On your mark, get set, go!" Chris yells, I start off with a slight jog, not completely pushing myself here. Cody of course keeps up with me. "You're good at this." He compliments and at this point I just feel like I'm good at everything with how many compliments I'm getting and I do not need to feed into my ego. "So are you, Cory was it?" i know his name but I like messing with people. "Cody, but you can call me Cory. You can call me anything you'd like." Hey says and I mentally curse then run faster. "Hey, wait up!" He calls.
"Pick it up people! If you're not back in time, you don't eat!" Chris yells into a mega phone just like he did on the cliff. Only this time he's driving past us on a moped.
I roll my eyes, running past plenty of others with a bored expression. I was on my school's track team, this is nothing.
Cody and I make it into the lodge with DJ, we all sit together, catching our breaths and cooling down. All of us sat silently to calm down. I throw my head down, waiting for everyone to fill in the lodge. "Clear the table stat!" Owen bursts through the door, holding a knocked out Noah. "Oh, we made it." Leshawna crawls in as Owen is doing compressions on Noah.
"What took you so long?" Courtney snaps at Harold who's gripping onto his chest trying to breathe in and out. "I think I'm having heart palpitations."
"Hey, wait a minute. If they lost that means we won the challenge!" Gwen says, everyone stops what they're doing to cheer, even Noah wakes up from whatever he was in. "Whoa there! Hold your horses, guys. That wasn't the challenge." Chris says.
"What did he just say?" Gwen squinted her eyes, but disappointment was cut short when curtains I didn't even see were there open to a whole buffet table. "Who's hungry?"
"After a whole week of brown sludge, I almost cried when I saw that buffet." Gwen admits.
"And then I saw it, the buffet table. It was beautiful. There was Turkey and Nanaimo bars and baked beans in maple syrup. Could I have a minute?" He then pretends to cry, holding his head.
Everyone ended up stuffing themselves. I got disgusted by all the chewing. I ended up only eating a tiny bit before leaving the lodge. I sat outside until I heard Chris talk about how it's a two part challenge. Some awake-a-thon and being the last one standing wins invincibility.
We're all sat out by the fire and I just feel bored, not even tired. Maybe because I didn't eat as much as everyone else did.
12 hours in, Owen went on about being up but not even seconds later passed out. I laugh, taking out my MP3 Player and earbuds to listen to music but it was really just to eavesdrop or be peaceful.
"The awake-a-thon was definitely the most brutal thing I've ever done in my life." Gwen tiredly tells the camera.
"This is the most boring thing I've ever done in my life." Gwen says.
"So my strategy is to get two campers to form an alliance with me and take to the final three. The only question is, who can I find that is either desperate or dumb enough to do whatever I say?" Heather shares her idea.
Lindsay's now doing a handstand and one of my earbuds is now out of my ear. Because even seeing this I do not understand what this blonde is doing right now. "What are you doing?" Gwen asks her, I thank her mentally because I didn't want to be the one to ask. "Trying to get the blood to rush to my head. I think it's working." She says simply. "Can I try?" Beth excitedly questions. "Sure."
I turn to Leshawna. "I wonder how they're gonna go out." I chuckle and she snorts. "Heather will definitely take care of that." We both quietly laugh.
Cody looks up at me and waves, I do a peace sign back causing him to tiredly grin. "What's going on between you two?" Leshawna giggles, nudging me and I try not my best not to laugh. "He has some stupid crush on me. It'll pass." I wave it off as nothing.
"I know like 4 people that got some stupid crush on that girl. Wouldn't say I'm surprised though. Did you see the way she effortlessly ran today? Amazing." She perks up but then catches what she's saying and then stammers. "I mean... like she literally ran that without breaking a sweat it seemed. That's crazy."
Eva gets up to go to the bathroom. I turn back to Leshawna. "Do you have your eye on anyone?" I play with the string of my ear buds.
"Nah, we ain't here for all that." She was lying. I could tell by the way she holds herself. I raise my eyebrows and she nervously laughs. "I'm serious." I put my hands up in defense. "Okay, okay." I whisper. "What about you?" She brings it back to me, which I should've known was going to happen. I catch myself glancing over to Gwen then over to Heather but I shake my head. "There's definitely some attractive people here but I don't know about crushing." I hum, leaning back on the wood.
Now hitting the 24 hour mark I sat with Gwen, 9 of us awake and 7 of the Killer Bass. Courtney's running in place.
Tyler screams, jolting a few people up. "Congratulations campers. You've made it to the 24 hour mark. Time to take it up a notch." He uncovers a pile of books as Chef was wearing a pink lamb costume and holding a lyre? "Fairy tales."
"Oh he's not serious." Gen says. "I think he is." I roll my eyes and Chris clears his throat, opening a book. "Once upon a time, there was inside this boring kingdom... a boring village. And inside this boring, sleepy village, filled with very boring children who did very boring things..." Next was Chef spreading glitter in a tu-tu dancing ballet.
Dj tied himself straight onto a tree but knocked it down after instantly falling asleep. "Timber!" Gwen yawned.
Now at the 40 hour mark, 4 Killer bass and 7 of us remained. I'm not lying in front of Gwen. My limbs sprawled out. We're five now as Beth and Lindsay pass out.
"Okay, favorite song?" Gwen asks me, and I think for a minute. "Breaking dishes." I stretched then sat up. "Favorite color?" I ask. "Midnight blue, yours?"
"The rainbow, I couldn't pick any color then the others would be left out." I rant a little bit and Gwen awes at my answer right before yawning. I sprung into slight action, getting onto my knees and ankles shaking her jokingly. "Don't fall asleep. Okay, quick. Favorite movie moment?" I question her.
"You're gonna think it's cheesy." She says and I chuckle. "I might but hey mine's probably stupid." I assure her... kind of. "You might?" She laughs, "I gotta be honest." I smile as we both calm our laughter. "But seriously, no judgment here." I put my pinky up and she links hers with mine. "Okay, the kiss at the end of that road-trip movie. You know the one with the guy and the three girls?" My jaw drops. "Really? I love that movie." I gasp, grabbing onto one of her hands. "No way, people always call that movie stupid." And as I went to say something in response a naked, sleepwalking Owen walked in front of us.
Our eyes widen sharply before following over to see his clothes laid out on the ground.
"Did I mention that I ate the entire dish of baked beans and maple syrup? Funny thing about baked beans, they make me sleepwalk." He awkwardly informs the audience.
Gwen was now laying on her stomach as I stayed sitting up. "Wow, they sleep together too." I laugh and she tiredly smiles. "Even though this is to go all the way to just one person I hope we make it to the end together." Gwen yawns, I stare up at the sky humming in agreement. But if I'm being truly honest I know I can't get too attached to anyone. At the end of the day this is 100,000 dollars on the line.
Now we're both watching the stars, laying flat on the ground, her pinky linked with mine. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah, it's weird but I think I'm so tired that I'm not tired anymore. Does that make sense?" She explains, I yawn once again causing her to yawn too. "Definitely, but we can get through this. Think of how good not being eliminated will feel." I remind her. "True."
We then look for constellations again and really I'm just listening to her talk. It was quite soothing but as I'm listening I look around at the others. I notice Heather alone and staring at me. Since she's so tired her reflexes were slow so I caught it before she looked away. I smile to myself. "You still there, [Name]?" Gwen wiggles her pinky and I chuckle. "I'm right here." I assure her.
At 51 hours Gwen and I are now standing and watching Justin not moving, in some weird pose. "Look at him, he's like a statue. He hasn't moved in over 50 hours." Gwen points out and we both yell at him, making random noises but he doesn't even falter. "Amazing, look at the concentration." She compliments but I stare at him closely, rubbing the back of my neck once I realize his eyes are painted. "Aren't his eyes blue? Like menacingly blue?" I quiz, waving a hand in his face but Gwen actually pokes him in the cheek. His head shakes and his real eyes open. We both gasp. "
"His eyelids are painted, I saw it!" Eva calls. "Shut up! Oh, I've got to see this." Chris laughs, sprinting to Justin who smiles nervously, knowing he's just been caught. "That is so freaking cool," Chris admits. "But you're still out, dude." He walks away, the model slumps sadly.
Hours pass, hitting 84 and I don't even understand how we're making it this far. It's all worth it though to see Noah spooning Cody, kissing his ear. The two wake up screaming.
Now it's up to Gwen, Heather, Trent and I. "i'd kill for a coffee right now." Gwen tells us, I nod bringing my knees to my chest. I sat in front of Heather, besides Gwen. "What is the matter with you people?" Chris comes up to us with a coffee in hand, sipping it quite loudly. "Come on, fall asleep already," He whines.
Gwen crawls to his knees. "You gotta hook me up man. I'll even eat the grinds." She pleads with the annoying host. "All right, you six stay with me. The rest of you go and get a shower, for heaven's sake you stink!" He orders the losers and I sigh wishing I was them right about now.
"I didn't want it to come to this. I said that to Chef Hatchet last night. I said, "Chef, I don't want it to come to this." But darn it, these campers are tough. And so I've come up with the most boring, sleep inducing activity I can find." Chris announces to the camera or the audience- whatever. I'm too tired to think.
"Oh, Come on. What now? Okay, you know what? Bring it on." Gwen places her hands on her hips.
"The history of Canada." The red covered book pops open. "A pop up book." It was a beaver. "Chapter on: The Beaver, national symbol and a "dam" fine hat." He reads, we all groan but I can feel my sleepiness really kick in. Eva fell asleep and so did Heather.
Trent starts to fall back, Gwen and I try to save him but it is too late. "Damn." I shake my head.
"Time for a bathroom break. Any takers?" He asks us three.
"I've held it this long, Mouse and Sweetheart." I wince as he holds himself. "I can go all day." He tells us. "Yeah but can you hold it for ten more chapters?" Gwen Crosses her arms. That gets him to get up and make his way to the bathroom. "You've got 5 minutes." Chris tells the bad teen. "Long as you don't mind a little company." Chris adds the last part. "Fine but stay out of the stall." Duncan snaps at the camera man who nods his head.
Gwen and I sit down and she sighs. "I don't know how much longer I can do this." She groans. "Keep it up, Gwenny. You got this." I rub her arm and her face turns pink. "You too."
A cameraman gives Chris a paper. "We have news! It looks like Duncan's taken a dive on the can, which means the official winners of the awake-a-thon are Gwen-" She goes to fall face first to the ground but I catch her, bringing her up into my arms. "And [Name]!"
"The Screaming Gophers win!" Chris holds up our weak hands.
I stand up, throwing Gwen over my shoulder and carrying her to our cabin with as much strength as I can muster. Gripping onto the railing to steady myself up the stairs as she's knocked out cold. I whimper up the final stair, bursting in through the door and lying her down on her bunk before I end up collapsing on the ground, instantly falling asleep on the hardwood floor. 
Four
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an-angels-fury · 2 months
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🌟 You Are My Destiny 🌟 - A Caspeter Playlist
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A small tribute to @equixen's new fanfic "Our Hands Are Tied" 🫶
True Love - P!nk
Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say / Sometimes I wanna slap you on your whole face / There's no one quite like you, you push all my buttons down / I know life would suck without you / At the same time I wanna hug you / I wanna wrap my hands around your neck / You're an asshole, but I love you / And you make me so mad, I ask myself / Why I'm still here? Or where could I go? / You're the only love I've ever known / But I hate you, I really hate you / So much I think it must be true love
I Found - Amber Run
And I'll use you as a warning sign / That if you talk enough sense, then you'll lose your mind / And I'll use you as a focal point / So I don't lose sight of what I want / Oh, and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be / Right in front of me / So talk some sense to me
Wicked Game (Cover) - Ursine Vulpine, Annaca
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you / It's strange what desire will make foolish people do / I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you / And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you / Oh I don't want to fall in love / Oh I don't want to fall in love with you
War of Hearts - Ruelle
I can't help but love you / Even though I try not to / I can't help but want you / I know that I would die without you
Neptune - Sleeping at Last
I'm only honest when it rains / If I time it right the thunder breaks / When I open my mouth / I wanna tell you but I don't know how / I'm only honest when it rains / An open book with a torn out page / And my inks run out / I wanna love you but I don't know how / I don't know how
Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
So, before you go / Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better? / If only I've known you had a storm to weather / So, before you go / Was there something I could've said to make it all stop hurting? / It kills me how your mind could make you feel so worthless
The Great War - Taylor Swift
There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair / And we will never go back to that / Bloodshed, crimson clover / Uh-uh, the worst was over / My hand was the one you reached for / All throughout the Great War / Always remember, uh-uh / We're burned for better / I vowed I would always be yours / 'Cause we survived the Great War
Who Wants to Live Forever - Queen
There's no time for us / There's no place for us / What is this thing that builds our dreams, yet slips away from us? / There's no chance for us / It's all decided for us / This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us
Arcade - Duncan Laurence
A broken heart is all that's left / I'm still fixing all the cracks / Lost a couple of pieces when / I carried it, carried it, carried home / I'm afraid of all I am / My mind feels like a foreign land / Silence ringin' inside my head / Please, carry me, carry me, carry me home / I've spent all of the love I saved / We were always a losing game / Small town boy in a big arcade / I got addicted to a losing game / Oh, all I know, all I know / Loving you is a losing game
In My Veins - Andrew Belle
Nothing goes as planned / Everything will break / People say goodbye, in their own special way / All that you rely on and all that you can fake / Will leave you in the morning but find you in the day / Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out / Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth / Oh, you run away 'cause I am not what you found / Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Dynasty - MIIA
The scar I can't reverse / The more it heals, the worse it hurts / Gave you every piece of me / No wonder it's missing / Don't know how to be so close to someone so distant / And all I gave is gone / Tumbled like it was stone / Thought we built a dynasty that Heaven couldn't shake / Thought we built a dynasty like nothing ever made / Thought we built a dynasty forever couldn't break up
All I Want - Kodaline
All I want is nothing more / To hear you knocking at my door / 'Cause if I could see your face once more / I could die a happy man, I'm sure / When you said your last goodbye / I died a little bit inside / I lay in tears in bed all night / Alone, without you by my side / But if you love me / Why would you leave me?
Rewrite the Stars - Zac Efron, Zendaya
How do we rewrite the stars? / Say you were made to be mine / Nothing can keep us apart / 'Cause you are the one I was meant to find / It's up to you, and it's up to me / No can say what we get to be / Why don't we rewrite the stars / Changing the world to be ours / You know I want you / It's not a secret I try to hide / But I can't have you / We're bound to break and my hands are tied
Fire on Fire - Sam Smith
When we fight, we fight like lions / But then we love and feel the truth / We lose our minds in a city of roses / We won't abide by any rules / I don't say a word / But still you take my breath and steal the things I know / There you go, saving me from out of the cold / Fire on fire, would normally kill us / But with this much desire, together, we're winners / They say that we're out of control and some say we're sinners / But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms / 'Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me / And look in my eyes / You are perfection, my only direction / It's fire on fire
King and Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men
Howling ghosts, they reappear / In mountains that are stacked with fear / But you're a king and I'm a lionheart / And in the sea that's painted black / Creatures lurk below the deck / But you're a king and I'm a lionheart / As the world comes to an end / I'll be here to hold your hand / 'Cause you're my king and I'm your lionheart
Two Men in Love - The Irrepressibles
If I asked you now / Will you be my prince? / Will you lay down your armor / And be with me forever? / When you open me / All the power in me moves / How you want to see / All the depths of me real / When you open me / All the power in me moves / I feel real / I love you
Turning Page - Sleeping at Last
I've waited a hundred years / But I'd wait a million more for you / Nothing prepared me for / What the privilege of being yours would do / If I had only felt the warmth within your touch / If I had only seen how you smiled when you blushed / Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough / I would have known what I was living for all along / What I've been living for / Your love is my turning page / Only the sweetest words remain / Every kiss is a cursive line / Every touch is a redefined phrase
Saturn - Sleeping at Last
You taught me the courage of stars before you left / How light carries on endlessly even after death / With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite / How rare and beautiful it is to even exist / I couldn't help but ask / For you to say it all again / I tried to write it down / But I could never find a pen / I'd give anything to hear / You say it one more time / That the universe was made / Just to be seen by my eyes
You - Keaton Henson
If you must leave / Leave as though fire burns under your feet / If you must speak / Speak every word as though it were unique / If you must die, sweetheart / Die knowing your life was my life's best part / If you must die / Remember your life
A Time for Us - Barratt Waugh
A time for us someday there'll be / When chains are torn by courage born / Of love that's free / A time when dreams so long denied / Will flourish as we unveil / The love we now must hide / A time for us at last to see / A time worthwhile for you and me / And with our love through tears and thorns / We will endure as we pass surely / Through every storm / A time for us someday there'll be / A new world, a world of shining hope for you and me
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docholligay · 3 months
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The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
THIS IS ALL SPOILERY AND ALL OF IT IS JUST GUSHING AND RAMBLING AND VIBES. NO ACTUAL REVIEW WE DIE LIKE MEN.
I love this book. We all know I love this book. I have read this book at least a dozen time sand we all know I'm going to read it again. I'm never sure whether I like this or Tipping the Velvet more, but I think as a piece of literature, this is the better book. (But Tipping the Velvet is the one I often recommend to people. Sarah Waters can be hard for some people to hang with and Tipping is her fluffiest.)
Kay Langrish, what a fucking piece of work this bitch is. She's so pathetic, and I do sort of resent her for it, but also I love her. I want to beat the shit out of her. She's Poor Little Rich Butch who literally shuts herself the fuck away and gazes out the window all day. She's one of those people for whom the war was the best thing that ever happened to her, and people like this do exist! Some people are great in a crisis, and some people are ONLY good in a crisis. Is it about her being butch and that being easier in wartime? Sure, but Mickey has it even worse and seems to manage being a member of society. (Mickey is the best person in this novel and perhaps of all time. I love her so much, she takes it all in so much stride in her shitty little houseboat, and then she offers it to Kay. Mickey will be played by Lena Oxton in the blorbo adpatation in my head and Kay will be played by Haruka Tenoh) I think Kay is just a fucking rich loser, and I love that for her.
Viv! What a moron. My wife read this book and her takeaway was the the book was about "Gay losers and a token sad straight woman" and she is not wrong. I love how much Viv hates her life in the present day and how pathetic she feels it all is, but she can't get away from it, because! Yes!! I always privately hope that the book will be different this time and there's an afterword where Viv goes and finds Kay and they get together, because I think Viv could be perfectly happy being Kay's wife and being doted on. She wants that! And Reggie will never ever give it to her (blah blah not being into women whatever it's my fantasy afterword and I can do what I want with it)
Speaking of morons let's talk about Helen. I hate Helen and I LOVE her storyline. I love her absolute dedication to ruining her own life. I'm not saying she has to love Kay, I would love to be doted on by Kay but it's not for everyone, and I'm not entirely convinced they didn't get together for any reason other than Helen felt grateful to her. BUT, what about with Julia? What about her insane reactions, the way she barely allows Julia to have friends, the way every time they go a party Helen acts like everyone is trying to fuck Julia? She basically manifests an affair into happening by her constant assumption that it is. IF Julia is sleeping around, of course that's her bad behavior, but let's not pretend like Helen's ridiculous suspicion and quarreling over nothing, her low-key resentment of Julia's success, isn't doing anything.
And Duncan, man, talk about your easily led, whatever's happening is what may as well happen, type. His thing with the junk that he considers 'antique' is so sad. He lives in a little boy's room and is kept like a little boy as a sexual pet and it would be disturbing if it wasn't so much just what Duncan had decided was the logical next step just like killing himself along with Alec. He was happier in fucking prison, it almost seems because there at least everything was just...decided for him.
I wonder if Waters isn't making a commentary about the idea that London and the UK more broadly was "never better than in the Blitz" and all that Blitz spirit stuff which i confess I can be real prone to as well, but I don't live there and am allowed to engage in a bit of romance over a situation that in no way involves me. Is Waters saying, "If we think that we, as a country, city, community, were never better than when we were actively being firebombed, it might just be that we have decided that, and have decided not to make ourselves better than that moment. Anytime, we could decide to be a better London & UK, but we aren't doing that. We're staring at the rubble and wishing we were there." I don't know! I have literally never thought this before it just came to me while writing this, it might be bullshit.
Basically the summary of this novel could be "Four people ruin their own lives because they aren't sure they deserve anything better" and I wouldn't argue with that. I love this book so fucking much.
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dual-fantasy · 3 months
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duncan is simultaneously the funniest fucking guy and super tragic to me. i think hes The Worst Ever because its a way of acting out against his dad. funniest shit ever and devastating. Everything about duncney as a whole leaves me in hysterics and also clutching my chest crying punching holes into the walls. he is killer phoebe bridgers to me. can the killer in him tame the fire in (various romantic partners he swore were the one then broke up with 2 days later). or is there nothing left to do for them. hes sick of the chase but hes hungry for blood. and theres nothing he can do. hes a dog motif in a really specific street dog way you just have to understand. in a wolf way, even. but in a rabid stranded starving way. he is the only heartbreaker as well btw. he'll be the loser in this game he'll be the bad guy in the play. eric is a duncney song but in a way you would not expect. it is the duncney duncan pov song ever actually. she can come closer he'll let her hurt him how she chooses. this view of her of the top of her head makes him forgive her. her skin cries a soft weep like his. his price how about just a part of her cause he wants. shouldve been me is THE duncney/gwuncan song ever. courtney pov. when she saw the girl looked just like her and it broke her heart the lengths he went to have her to get to have her. cause she hasnt given him what he needs. he wanted her but couldnt reach her. so he went into his memory and relived all the ways he still wants her. shes sorry it shouldve been her. thought ive had in my head for over a year. its literally Them. a loving feeling is the aleduncan 90th breakup song. theyre compatible but only behind closed doors. they mean a lot to me actually jsut like . In General duncan and duncan ships by extension are mitskipilled. mitskimaxxing, even. GRAVE DOG!!!!
frrrr you're so real but if im going to comment on Duncan I need to confess something. Ive never finished watching action. ive gotten to like ep 20 I still have literally never finished it. I know that he has a lot of moments in there but I haven't finished it for some reason. I understand you but also I'm not as insane. feel free to keep screaming about him because I completely trust your opinion . I'll probably finish action soon because you are dragging me into the duncan hellhole. I love characters who are so silly and stupid and also absolutely devastating if you think about it too hard. literally peak characters.
dog motif but in the way that he was abandoned by everyone because they weren't aware he was actually a wolf. he keeps finding new homes but he gets kicked out after a day. he's rabid and scary and he's desperate for a secure home, but he can't admit that because it goes against his nature. everything hes ever known.
I love duncney too btw. Courtney is such an interesting character to me but I cannot put it into words. I love her though. absolutely love her. she's so complicated and nuanced. Courtney is for the intellectuals (joking). same with gwuncan.
also I'm insane about aleduncan. not to be kind of basic but they're everything to me. they can only be with eachother if they're alone. insane about them
I don't have any song recommendations bc school has been fucking my ass recently. moving to an online school while being tech illiterate is actually horrible </3 but your music taste is soooo good. actually top tier. real and genuinely incredible. he's mitskimaxxing, lushpilled, puberty2mogging. grave dog you're so real always
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